Electrical sign



A. C. H EINY.

ELECTRICAL SIGN.

APPLICATION FILED APR.20,1916.

) Patented Dec. 12, 1922.

ANATOLE C. HEINY, OF FLUSHING, NEW YORK.

- ELECTRICAL SIGN.

Application filed April 20, 19.16: Serial No. 92,458,

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, ANA'roLE C. HEINY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Flushing, in the county of Queens and State of New York, have invented certain new and" useful Improvements in Electrical Signs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improyements specifically made for a greater rapidity in the operation of electrically-illuminated signs, generally made up of panels arranged 111 one or more rows, the object of which is, in addition to its primary advertising purposes, also that of flashingnews, telegrams, etc., for general public informatlon.

There are different kinds of suchsigns in use, but my present improvements, embrace.

only that kind the panels of which are actually operated by hand by the closing and opening of a distinct knife switch for a given ietter, figure or character, and only one knife each time for any one panel.

This mode of operation is per force very slow and does not meet the publics exigencies for the immediate appearance of a new sentence instantly the one read has disappeared. The actual operation requiresa time of darkness on the sign while the operator hastily opens the previously closed switches and then closes those required for the new sentence and then turns the current on again.

With my improvements there is never any time of darkness between sentences, and this I obtain by simply adding to, the actual panel switchboard a duplicate one, and'arrange and connect them both to the panel in i such a way and manner that one series of panel switchboards is being made ready for the next letters or sentence while the sentence previously flashed on the sign is beingfor the third sentence and so on continu ously in turn and so long as the sign is to be operated. v

In the accompanying drawing of one figure only the two roups of six lamps each, marked from L to f, are supposed to represent a panel each, and for the better understanding of the following description and the drawing'it is to be further supposed that when a certain number of lamps of either group are lit the lighted lamps form each time a"group representing a letter, for example, when lamps 2, 3, 4 and 6 are lit indicate the letter A; when' la-mps'3, 4 and 6 are lit the letter B; and-lamps 1, 3 and 5, the letter C. I

Now each of these letters may be flashed on either panel at will, if each lamp of the letter to be flashed on be connected to a terminal post in a line with the posts of the other lamps and so that the single blade of a knife-switch may be made to come in contact with all posts simultaneously, the knife of course belng connected to a source of electric current.

In the drawing these knives are indicated by the. letter they are supposed to form on the panel when closed, but with the difference that the knives of the first panel-switchboard-are indicated by the letter followed by the number 1, and those of the second panelswitchboard by the number 2; for example,

they

indicated, those for the first panel-switchboard with a small letter, 11;, followed by the number of the lamp, and those for the second panel-switchboard by a. capital letter, W, also followed by the number of thelamp;

for example, the original wire leading from lamp L to knife-switch C 'is indicated by w, and the, new branch connection to its terminal post in the second panel-switch board is indicated by W;

This'mode of desi ating the wires is followed forvbothpane s which for the sake of distinction I indicate as P for the first panel, and P. for the second panel.

The operation proper of the panels which may be considered as a sign placed far away from the operating switchboards as the broken lines 1 and 1 supposedly indicate, will become more apparent in the following description of parts and their operation.

In thecircuit of each of the lamp wires w to w, and W to W, between the-lamps and their terminal knife-switch contact posts, there is placedat make-and-break switch indicated in the first panel-switchboard section by a small letter swith-thetion. These make-and-break switches are simple contact blades, each individually pivotable around a pivot post fixed in the general supporting frame board of insulating material (not shown in the drawing), and serving as a terminal forthe switch; each blade is further hinged to an insulating bar B made of any material strong enough for-its work, but preferably of meta I lated from the blades. This bar B, made of'one piece or of a number of parts joined together, is sustained on the frame-board by fixed pins 39 passing through slots si in the bar which permit it to slide forward or backward as it is pulled and released by a solenoid M fixed on the frameboard at one end of the bar and acting on an armature solenoid and closing the circuit of every.

wire 'w' to w in both first panel-switchboards, and holding open that of every wire W to W, and would do so in .every succeeding panel-switchboard of a larger sign, be that sign of any number of panels, unless the number be so large that the switchboards would have to be placed in different rows-for the sake of space and facility of operation, in which case each row would have its own individual bar, each bar being provided with a controlling solenoid M exactly as illustrated. It does not matter into how many parts the bar Bis divided, so long as it, in part or in onepiece, is operated at the right moment; andwere it not that it would only too often be forgotten to be pushed or pulled, it might as well be operated by hand. Therefore, as a hand operation is impracticable in regard to absolute security-of operation, and as this is only obtainable by an electrical method, 1' use a solenoid M, as shown, and make its operation absolutely dependent on the operation of a double-throw knife-switch S, theblade of which being connected by one end to a inain source of power, PW, by medium of wires'W andW, sends the current to either of the rows of panel-switchboards, by being thrown over to the termi nal T, or to terminal ,T', this last one the terminal for wire W of the second panelswitchboards, the other, T, the terminal for wire W of the first panel-switchboards.

Tn the arrangement of parts shown in the drawing, the current is sent to all the first panel-switchboards only, and at the same in which case it -must be well insu-- time also through the coils of solenoid M and return wire w, energizing thus the solenoid which then pulling bar B towards it, forces all make-and-break switches s to a to close "theircircuits and thus'allow the current to pass through every lamp circuit closed by the operation of one or the other of the knife-switches of the "first panelswitchboards only; and thus flash on the sign'the characters or letters represented by the knife-switches that have been closed,

which in this case are assumed to be the letter 18 in the first panel, and letter C in the second panel. At the same time, as'can be seen, knife-switch C of the second switchboard of the first panel and knife-switch A also of the second switchboard of the second panel, have both been closed in pre aration for the next flashing of the letters and A on the first and second panels respectively and which will be done instantly by the throwing over from terminal T to terminal T of the double-throw switch S, which also cuts the solenoid circuit and allows spring,

839, to push bar B forward to open now all make-an d-break switches s to 's and close all'the switches S to S. The first switchboards of the several panels being thus cut out may be prepared, by the manipulation of the proper knife-switches, for the showing of the next characters at the panels when the. switch S is next operated.

The operation then of any hand-operated electric sign provided with my new improvements may then .be indicated as follows:

First, double-throw switch-blade S is I placed -midway between the terminals T and T; then main switch SM is closed; then the desired knife-switches of any one of the panel-switchboards of the same row are closed; and then switch-blade S is thrown over to the terminal whichleads the current to the row of panel-switchboards with the closed knife-switches; then immediately the knife-switches of the letters for the next sentence to be flashed are closed in the row of the other panel-switchboards, which operation may be done by more thanone operator; and'then if, or when the time for the flashing of the next sentence has arrived, switch-blade S is thrown over to the other terminal; then all the knife-switches of the former row of "panel-switchhoards are openedand those of the letters for the third sentence are closed in their place, and when this is all done again and time is up for the third sentence to be flashed, switch-blade S is again thrown over to the former terminal, and the same previous operations are repeated all over and again.

Finally I wish to call attention to the fact that the principles inherent to the above described improvements are not only de signed for the hand-operated electric signs,

but also for the electrically-operatedelectric signs, such as the kind for which I obtained Letters Patent No. 834,235, there being the same necemity for each panel of these signs of a duplicate panel-switchboard, in each of which of these there being.

embody in the following claims as my in-,

vention and desire to secure by Letters 4 Patent What I claim is:

1. In an electrical illuminated sign apparatus, a plurality of panels in each of which lamps may be illuminated in different combinations to display different characters, duplicate independent sets of electric connections between the lamps of each panel and two switchboards, the conductors of each set being similar, and each beingbrokem'two individual and similar controlling switchboards for each panel to which the conductors from the lamps lead, the conductors of one set leading to one switchboard, and those of the other set to the other switchboard, and means individual to each panel for alternately and substantially simultaneously opening the breaks in one set of conductors and closing those in' the other, the sald means for a plurality of panels belng mechanically connected to insure simultaneous operation.

2. In an electric sign having a plurality of panels carrying lamps to be illummated in diflerent combinations to display different characters, separate illuminating circuits for the lamps, each circuit having two main branches further. subdivided into terminal branches each terminating at a contact, duplicate switchboards for each panel to which the main branches of the said circuits respectively lead and Where are located the said contacts of the terminal branches in groups, switchbars in the switchboards for engaging with the terminal contacts of each-group as they are moved, a make-and break switch .in each main branch circuit, and means for connecting these switches so that those in one set of branches'are open while those in the other set of branches are closed, and vice versa.

3. The combination stated-in claim 1, ineluding,electro-magnetic means for operating the said mechanical connection, and a switch for controlling the current that lights the lamps and also operates the said electromagnetic means.

4. In an electric illuminated sign apparatus, a plurality of panels in each of which the lamps may be illuminated in diflerent combinations to display different characters, duplicate independent sets of electric connections between the lamps of each panel and two switchboards, the conductors of each set being similar and each broken, two

individual and similar controlling switchboards for each panel to which the conductors from the lamps lead, the conductors of one set leading to one switchboard and those of the other set to the other switchboard, means for alternately and substantially simultaneously opening the breaks in one set of conductors and closing those in the other. a controlling switchboard in the main line arranged to engage alternately with two terminals, and conductors leading from the said terminals respectively to the independent switchboards for the panels.

ANATOLE C. HEINY. 

